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Grandmother walks 10k for three-year-old who died in her sleep

THE grandmother of a little girl who died suddenly in her sleep has completed her latest fundraising feat.

Valerie Mills walked 10k to raise money for Dravet Syndrome UK, which funds research into a condition that she believes may have contributed to the death of her granddaughter Lucy-May Hudson.

Lucy-May, right, was three years old when she died in her sleep in August 2012. It is believed she had bronchial pneumonia, but as she showed no symptoms leading up to her death, doctors said she had suffered from sudden infant death syndrome.

Val, of Newton Road, Lowton, said: “Lucy had seizures and fits so we knew she had epilepsy, but it is only since her death that we have found out what type it most likely was.

“As she got older, she began to develop learning difficulties because quite often with Dravet sufferers, they will learn something and then have a fit and it would be knocked out.

“A lot of children with it do live into adulthood, but sudden deaths are not uncommon and we believe it contributed to Lucy-May’s death.”

Since then, her family and friends have raised almost £25,000 for the Lullaby Trust, which provides specialist support for bereaved families and anyone affected by sudden infant death.

“We have been raising money for the Lullaby Trust up until now, but I think is time to move on to do something for a different charity,”

said Val.

“I would like to thank Kathleen Roberts and Mary Morris, who arranged the walk.

“Kathleen usually does an annual walk for Epilepsy Action, as her husband passed away after suffering from epilepsy, but this year she wanted to do it for Dravet in memory of Lucy.”